


keep you sheltered

by piginawig



Category: IT (2017), IT - Stephen King
Genre: Fluff, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-29
Updated: 2018-06-29
Packaged: 2019-05-30 04:29:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,644
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15089009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/piginawig/pseuds/piginawig
Summary: richie has a fear of thunderstorms.





	keep you sheltered

**Author's Note:**

> this is from an anon request on tumblr, for the "ways you said i love you" prompt list: "as we huddle together, the storm raging outside". title from 'lego house' by ed sheeran. not edited.

unless he was drunk, high, or right on the precipice of sleep, richie tozier would never admit that he was afraid of thunderstorms. the howling wind, the booming thunder, the flashes of lightning, the way rooms would become shrouded in darkness when the power went out, none of it bothered him, he’d say. he was totally fine alone during a thunder storm, and no one needed to worry about him, no sir-ee.

eddie kaspbrak had, however, seen richie tozier drunk, high, and right on the precipice of sleep, and knew that thunder storms were one of richie’s biggest fears, right next to being abandoned by his friends and being booed offstage during his stand-up set. so when eddie noticed the dark cloud over his head as he walked to his dorm after class, he frowned, checking his watch. it wasn’t quite 4 pm, which meant richie still had another hour at work. eddie hoped the rain would hold off until richie had made it home.

once he got into his dorm he immediately turned on his small television and flipped it to the weather channel, sighing with relief when he saw the rain wouldn’t start for another three hours, and that it wasn’t supposed to be more than a light shower. he turned the television off and pulled homework out of his backpack, getting to work.

eddie was so into the book he was reading for his world lit class that the booming thunder outside his window jolted him upright, his heart pounding loudly in his chest at the sudden noise. with wide eyes, he pulled open the curtains of his dorm and cursed softly at what appeared to be a fucking monsoon, complete with crashes of thunder and sparks of lightning.

his mind immediately went to richie. he glanced at his watch. it was just after 7 pm, so richie would be in his own dorm. richie had been lucky enough to get a room to himself after his roommate had dropped out halfway through their first semester. eddie hadn’t been quite as lucky, but considering his own roommate spent almost every night with his girlfriend he didn’t complain too much. he spent a lot of his nights at richie’s anyway, squished in richie’s twin bed as they whispered secrets and dumb jokes and plans for the future.

but eddie had been caught up in his homework and now it was storming and richie was alone and eddie was completely on the other side of campus. 

groaning, he went to his tiny closet and pulled out his rainboots and a poncho, donning them both and pulling the hood over his head. he debated bringing his backpack but knew everything inside it would be soaked by the time he made it to richie’s. with a sigh, he left his dorm, power walking to the exit of the building.

eddie thanked every god he could think of that he’d joined track his junior year of high school and was able to quickly jog the almost mile distance to richie’s dorm. he was out of breath and soaked by the time he made it; his hood had kept flying off his head as he ran, and eventually he stopped placing back on his sopping wet hair. he flew into richie’s building, shivering as he went into the stairwell and raced up the steps, exiting on the third floor and not stopping until he was standing in front of richie’s door.

he knocked three times, but got no answer. with a sad sigh, he opened the door and stepped inside, closing it behind him. he set to work pulling off his poncho and rainboots, hearing the rustling of richie untangling himself from the blankets he’d been underneath.

“eds?” he said, voice hoarse. “you- you didn’t have to come, you’re soaked.”

eddie shrugged, shivering. “i know you don’t like storms, so.”

richie looked at eddie wide-eyed, barely breathing, before a clap of thunder caused him to jump and whimper. eddie’s heart ached at the sight of his best friend practically cowering in fear.

he went to richie’s closet where he knew the towels were kept and quickly dried himself off the best he could. his pants however, were sopping wet.

“got something i can borrow?” he asked richie, who nodded and went to a dresser drawer. eddie quickly pulled on the athletic shorts richie tossed at him. another clap of thunder echoed in the room and richie crawled back under the blankets on his bed. eddie mopped up his hair with the towel as best he could and followed, climbing into the bed and pulling the blankets over his own head. “does it help if you can’t see it?”

richie nodded, not meeting eddie’s eyes. it was dark beneath the blanket, but eddie could still see the features of richie’s face. “sorry i’m such a fucking pussy.”

eddie put an arm around richie’s shoulders, pulling until richie fell into his side. “you were alone during a terrible storm when you were six, rich. it’s natural that storms still scare you.”

richie sighed, digging his head further into eddie’s neck. “it was - i mean, the babysitter just _left_ , she didn’t want to get flooded in at my house and my parents were gone for... hours. and the power was out and i didn’t have my glasses yet. i couldn’t see. eddie, i couldn’t fucking _see_ anything. i just sat in the corner and cried. i thought i was gonna die and now i... sometimes it still feels like i’m gonna die.”

the words were whispered against eddie’s skin. he remembered after it had happened. the storm had been bad, flooding all of derry. richie’s parents had both been stuck at their jobs, his babysitter had left as soon as the pouring rain started, and the power went out only a few hours into the storm. richie’s mom hadn’t made it home until six hours later, when some of the flooding had gone down. eddie remembered richie telling him about it a few days later at school, about how it had been an adventure, and he’d had fun, and wasn’t it cool that he survived the storm all by himself?

it was eleven years before richie got drunk during a thunderstorm, called eddie, and confessed what had really happened. 

“i’m right here, rich,” eddie whispered back, rubbing richie’s back as another round of thunder struck and richie’s body jolted. he could feel richie’s fingers holding his shirt in a tight fist, and he used his free hand to unclench his fingers and hold his hand instead. 

it wasn’t the first time they had held hands, but it still made eddie’s heart race. at this point, almost a year into college, eddie was pretty sure richie returned his feelings. his flirting had shifted from constant “your mom” jokes to more serious compliments and subtle touches. neither of them had dated since they had gotten to college. sometimes they’d have moments, looking at each other, and eddie would meet richie’s eyes and he just _knew_.

but they’d both been too chicken shit to make a move. there was a status quo, and both were afraid to rock the boat. would it change the dynamic of their friend group? what if they broke up? what if-

richie jumped again, squeezing eddie’s hand. a flash of lightning had sliced through the room, visible through the thickness of richie’s blanket, and the boys listened to the sound of the power cutting out. 

“fuck,” richie muttered, lifting his head from eddie’s neck. “can you distract me? tell me a story or something. just.. please?”

eddie nodded, racking his brain for what to say. “um. well, today in my literature class we got our essays back. i made an A. the prof even wrote on there ‘good job’.”

“as much as i applaud your scholastic excellence, eds, that’s not exactly distracting.”

“well? my life isn’t that interesting!” eddie argued, shrugging his shoulders. richie laughed a little and eddie grinned, but the smile was wiped off of richie’s face when rolling thunder sounded outside. “okay, um...”

eddie trailed off, looking at richie. his eyes were vulnerable, his mouth slightly parted. his legs were curled up under him and his hand still clutched eddie’s tightly. eddie couldn’t get over how much he was getting to see of his best friend. it struck him that he was the only one richie would let see him like this. eddie was the only one he looked at like that, with eyes that showed just how much he trusted eddie to help him.

so eddie did the only thing he could think of, the only thing he could say that he knew would truly distract his best friend.

“i’m in love with you.”

richie’s jaw dropped, and eddie watched him as it looked like the breath had been knocked out of him.

“and i think you’re in love with me too?” eddie continued, suddenly nervous. “i mean, i hate to assume something like that, but. i dunno. it’s like it’s there but we’re both always just ignoring it. but i’m kind of tired of ignoring it, aren’t you?”

thunder boomed outside, but richie didn’t take his eyes off eddie.

“obviously you don’t have to answer, and you don’t have to say you love me back, i just-”

eddie’s words were cut off as richie lunged forward, slotting their mouths together. eddie gasped, his free hand reaching up to wrap around richie’s neck and slide up into his curls. the kiss was messy and desperate, and eddie wasn’t sure what he’d been expecting but it wasn’t the sloppy, inexperienced but so fucking _passionate_ kiss that he got.

when richie pulled back, both their cheeks were red and their mouths were upturned in matching grins, and neither boy noticed when the thunder cracked loudly outside.


End file.
